G is for Grilled

G is for Grilled 

Few things smell as good as something being grilled on a warm spring day. We all have experienced it -- walking down a sidewalk or past a restaurant and catching a whiff of that lovely scent: herbs and garlic and smoke and charcoal and succulent meat or vegetables. 
Or at a county fair or local barbecue -- line after line of chicken legs and thighs turning golden brown or a shish-ke-bob with a few charred peppers and onions hugging that tasty morsel of chicken breast. Yum!

But how to judge how long to cook your chicken on a grill? And how often have you taken your chicken off the grill only to find it is dry and tough or so charred you have to cut off the outer quarter-inch to get to something edible?

There is a solution! We are going to suggest an easy, delicious grilled chicken that every kid and adult will love. You can take this basic recipe and add all sorts of things to it -- garlic, herbs, marinade, salsa -- but it is one that your kid could even get ready for you if the chicken already is cut up. It's really, really simple. 

First, a little technique in grilling chicken. We like to grill chicken on the bone because it has more flavor. Same with the skin. And the skin helps to hold in moisture while the chicken cooks. You can still do this with boneless chicken, but the cooking time will be reduced. 

Preheat your grill. Then, line a sheet cake pan with aluminum foil wrap and place your chicken pieces on it, making sure there is a little space in between pieces. Then salt and pepper each piece -- you want to be generous with the salt but not ridiculous -- about a half-teaspoon per piece. Yes, that may sound like a lot, but remember that some of it will fall to the sides of each piece and more will be brushed off or lost during cooking. Then drizzle each piece with a little olive oil. Again, be generous but not ridiculous. Probably about 1-1/2 teaspoons per piece. It helps if you have one of those bottles with a long drizzle spout. Not only does it help you to control the amount you are pouring, but it is easy for kids to handle and control, too. We like to put our index finger on top to partially cover the opening of the spout to further control the flow of oil.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Whoa! Do you think we forgot we are grilling? Hang with us here. 

Let the oiled and seasoned chicken sit for about 15 minutes if you have time; if not, that's OK. Grab your tongs and let's go!

Now, the key to great grilled chicken. Put each piece on the hot grill, breasts should be bone-side down, and close the lid. Turn each piece after 10-12 minutes and let them go for another eight minutes. While the chicken cooks, remove the foil from the sheet pan, wash it, and then cover it with a fresh piece of foil. 

Remove the chicken from the grill onto the fresh foil-lined pan after a total of about 20 minutes. It should be starting to turn golden brown and have some char marks. Put it in the oven and finish cooking -- about another 20 minutes unless the pieces are unusually large and thick, in which case it might take 30 minutes in the oven. Check the thickest pieces with a thermometer -- 160 degrees for white meat and 175 degrees for dark meat. 

Allow it to rest 15 minutes before you and your kids bite into tasty, juicy, smoky grilled chicken!

Do you have a favorite marinade or sauce? Marinate the chicken first or hit it with another coating of sauce after you remove the chicken from the grill but before it goes in the oven. It finishes beautifully!

Or add some vegetables to the mix and finish them in the oven with the chicken. They will pick up some of those lovely chicken juices. What kid wouldn't love that?!?

Grilled chicken Kid Friendly Cuisine style -- the flavor of grilling without the dryness!

F is for Fish

F is for Fish

Fish has come a long way in the past 20 years! OK, maybe it's that the availability of fresh fish and varieties to choose have come a long way in the past 20 years.

And if your kid already likes fish, great! If not -- which is the case for, we suspect, the vast majority of readers -- then this is where you want to start.

If you are like Jill, you pretty much only had fish sticks and the occasional fish filet in a thick breading available when you were young. If you are like Beth Anne, fish wasn't exactly high on her list of edible food. Actually, it wasn't on her list at all! So some person who thought she was doing something good (read "Jill"), tried to serve fresh trout to young children, thinking these 5-to-9-year olds would see it as a real treat! (It was the one time Jill managed to reduce Beth Anne to tears, her head on the Dining Room table, sobs emanating from her slender body. Neither one has ever forgotten it!)

So, perhaps fresh trout isn't the best first selection for young children who are unfamiliar with the glories (and potential hazards) of fish. If you have a ready supply available and a reasonable certainty of no bones, great, go for it. But if you are just introducing your children to fish, and if you are not a great fish connoisseur yourself, allow us to suggest some friendly beginnings.

First, find a good supply of fish. It smells fresh and, well, like the sea when you smell it. It is firm to the touch and looks like it has been handled gently. Second, select something from which removing bones is not a serious task (You can move to the more advanced selections of fish once everyone has the hang of it.): something like salmon or tilapia or sea bass. Third, there are fabulous recipes to be had that bring out the best in fish, and many people like good, fresh fish with nothing more than a little lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper. There are two lovely suggestions to follow -- one that is delicious and savory and has the easiest kitchen cleanup ever (!) and another that plays to a constant love in kids' lives, generally, and that is an affinity for something sweet.

First, fish in a bag. Yes, the French do a lovely rendition of this with parchment paper and beautifully twisted and sealed pouches. We are suggesting something much easier -- aluminum foil folded on the sides to seal in the juices. And it provides a wonderful opportunity to clean out odds and ends from the refrigerator or whatever vegetables you happen to have. You can use just about any fish with this, but we suggest you work with some mild white fish to begin with, like tilapia. Once you have prepared it a few times, you can experiment like mad!

The second fish dish is to pair fish and something sweet. Salmon goes beautifully with sweet -- whether it's maple syrup, brown sugar, or fruit. And what you are trying to do is open your child's mind to the realization that fish is really tasty. So, a little bit of sweet sauce is a beautiful vehicle to a lifetime of healthier eating! But if your child likes mustard or soy sauce, that's another lovely combination that works well with salmon or sea bass. In other words, pair the fish you are fixing -- or anything else you are introducing to your kid -- with something your child already likes. In the case of tilapia -- a very mild, white fish -- use tomatoes, olive oil and a few herbs, or even a tomato marinara sauce.

Get the picture? So here are a few recipes that are sure to make you and your child become life-long fans of fish. Just make sure you don't overcook it! Fish generally cooks very quickly, even the thicker fish takes only about 10 minutes per inch thickness.* So it's a very quick meal to prepare, too!

Let us know what YOU think when you have tried one of these recipes. It's how Beth Anne started eating fish and how Jill redeemed herself with Beth Anne!

Buon Appetito!

*Ten minutes per inch thickness is a general rule of thumb. That is, if a piece of fish is 1-1/2 inches thick, plan on at least 15 minutes of cooking and up to 20 minutes. As in all things, the time depends on how is it being prepared.

Fish in a Bag

4 fish filets (Tilapia)
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
20 baby carrots, sliced length-wise in half
1 medium red or orange bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 handful fresh parsley or about 8 full sprigs, leaves stripped from stems
8 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 t. dried thyme
2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. dry white wine, such as chardonnay or savignon blanc (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place four sheets of aluminum foil about 12 X 16 inches in size each on countertop, with the shorter side running left to right in front of you. First, divide onion slices evenly and each portion on each of the sheets of aluminum foil, just over the halfway mark on each sheet (leaving room to fold one half of the sheet over the other when you are done). Then add the carrot slices to each of the four sheets, dividing portions evenly. They should cover a space about the size of your fish filets.

Place fish filets lengthwise left to right on top of each of the onion/carrot mixtures. Salt and pepper the fish filets, again dividing the salt and pepper evenly among the four portions. Top each with one-fourth portion of the pepper and then the one-fourth portions of parsley and thyme sprigs. Drizzle each with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.

Fold the aluminum in half by pulling the edge farthest from you over toward you. Make sure the edges line up. You should now have one closed side and three open sides. Fold both sheets of the the left and right sides of the aluminum over about half an inch, then over another half-inch, sealing the ends. Pull the open edge up off the counter slightly, so that when you pour in the wine, it doesn't run out. Pour equal portions of wine in each pouch, then seal the open edge by folding the two sheets over about a half-inch and then another half inch. It should be sealed completely around.

Gently lift each of the pouches onto a large aluminum sheet pan, leaving as much room as possible between the pouches.

Put in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. You can serve each person a bag on their plate or, to make it easier for them, cut one side of each pouch open -- being careful not to let the steam burn you and to not dump the liquid out -- and slide the contents over a bed of steamed rice.

*TIP: You can add as many vegetables and varieties of vegetables as you like to each pouch. Just cut the vegetables in similar-sized pieces so that they cook evenly. Once you and your family get used to this dish, you may want to put out a variety of vegetable options and allow each one to prepare his/her version, according to taste. Herbs and seasonings can be adjusted, too, according to taste and combinations used. Other combinations might be tomatoes, basil, and kalamata olives; broccoli, garlic slices, and lemon juice; green beans and bacon bits. For full flavor, using onion, carrots and, perhaps, celery as the base will assure plenty of flavor!

TIP NO. TWO: You can also adapt this recipe to make Chicken in a bag. Cooking time will be about 40 minutes for a boneless, skinless chicken breast about one-inch thick.

Salmon with Tangy Maple Syrup Sauce

4 servings of salmon filet, about 4 oz. each, skin on
2 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 T. brown sugar
2 t. dijon mustard
1/4 t. liquid smoke (in the condiments section of your grocery store)
1/2 t. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In small sauce pan, melt butter over medium low heat. Once it has melted, add maple syrup, brown sugar, dijon mustard and liquid smoke. Stir until sugar is melted and sauce is blended and smooth. Turn off heat.

Cover small sheet pan with aluminum foil. (A small oven-proof casserole dish also will work.) Place four pieces of salmon filet on pan, placing them about 1/2 inch apart. Pull aluminum foil up around the fish pieces, folding it over to create an aluminum pan with sides around the fish. The goal is to keep the sauce around the fish pieces as much as possible, rather than allow it to spread out over the pan. If using a casserole dish, you want the fish pieces to fit closely, but not touch each other or the sides, in the dish.

Sprinkle salt on the salmon pieces, distributing evenly. Pour maple sauce over the salmon. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of the salmon. If in doubt, leave it a few extra minutes. It will cook a little more once you take it out of the oven.

To serve, use a long, thin spatula, inserting it between the salmon and the skin and separating the salmon from the skin as you go. Serve over a bed of rice or risotto.

TIP: Kids who are old enough can help make the sauce. Regardless of age, they can taste-test the sauce before you pour it over the salmon if you allow it to cool enough. This is usually enough to convince them they want to try the salmon!

E is for Eggs

Eggs are basic.

Probably the biggest mistake people make with eggs is in cooking them too fast on heat set too high. The result is a rubbery, brown, slightly bitter mess.

We don't want to reinvent the way to fry, boil or scramble eggs. Just about every general purpose cookbook will have excellent directions about how to hard boil, soft boil and every other way of cooking eggs. The question is what will appeal to your kids?

Jill: When I was sick as a kid, my Mom always made a soft-boiled egg tossed with toast and a little bit of salt and pepper. Today, that's still one of my comfort foods. Except now I put the egg and toast on top of a bed of spinach, maybe add a strip of crisp bacon, and a tablespoon of Angerona Farm Salad Dressing with the mustard addition. (See D is for Dressings) This works just as well with a fried egg.

Eggs are a wonderful way to feed kids something nutritious, high in protein, and in a hurry. Just remember to keep the heat about medium if you are using a skillet. What will result is a soft, silky, beautiful egg with the delicate flavor that makes eggs so unique!

D is for Dressings

What if we told you that one day your kid is going to love salads?

All it takes is a little of your time, a few simple ingredients and fresh crisp lettuce. What really makes a good salad great is contrast between smooth and acid, salt and sweet, crunchy and soft. Think smooth olive oil, tart lemon juice, sweet fresh fruit, crunchy sunflower seeds, and ripe tomatoes.

Every kid has to learn to like salads if they are to maintain healthy eating habits, and by learning it now it will serve them for a lifetime. But, salads probably are among the most maligned food in a kid's mind. What is the key to getting kids to eat salads? MAKE YOUR OWN SALAD DRESSINGS!

Not only is it incredibly cheaper than buying a product that has been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long that contains 43 ingredients, most of which you cannot pronounce, but they taste better! Basic salad dressings take three minutes or less to make, so why not save yourself the money, calories and time, as well as the refrigerator space?

As we have said many times before, the best way to get kids to taste things is to have the kids make the dish with you so they can taste along the way.

Beth Anne: I remember when my mom and Jill first taught me how to make salad dressings. I learned and perfected our family's Caesar salad dressing. I started with only being allowed to grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano, but gradually expanded my privileges from then on. I remember standing over the bowl and whisking for what felt like hours when adding the olive oil into the dressing, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Jill and I used to always sneak a piece of Bubba's bread when we were the only two in the kitchen and dip the bread into the salad dressing -- before we added the lettuce. It was delicious! Now that I'm in college, I've found that making my own salad dressings save time and money. It is so much more flavorful than buying anything from the store. I can make a container of Caesar -- or whatever I prefer -- dressing at the beginning of the week and it will last me throughout the entire week.

Some guidelines: Any quantity of salad dressing will depend on the amount of salad ingredients. Generally you want a dressing to just coat, and we do mean JUST coat, the lettuce. After all, a salad ultimately is about the ingredients, not the dressing.

Generally, you want one part vinegar or acid to two parts oil in salad dressings. Your oil really needs to be as good quality as you can afford, especially if it is olive oil.

Don't believe it's that simple? Try one of these dressings and you will change your mind and so will your children. And what a great way to start the New Year! Remember: you and your kids should taste along the way so that the flavors become familiar.

Buon Appetito!

Angerona Farm Salad Dressing (Also known as "30 Second Dressing")

2 T. vinegar (red wine, white balsamic, rice vinegar or whatever you have on hand)
1/2 t. seasoning salt (Lawry's or other commercial brand)
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. Oil (Olive or canola)

Whisk ingredients together until mixed. Drizzle on bed of washed and trimmed lettuce, fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots and any other fresh vegetables that strike your fancy.

*NOTE: If the dressing is too tart for your taste, add a touch more oil or a half-teaspoon of sugar. If you like a little more tang, add a half-teaspoon of Dijon mustard.


Caesar Dressing (Inspired by a good friend)

1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
2 T. Egg Beaters
Juice of 1 fresh lemon (Bottled lemon juice does not work for this!)
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
4 T. Olive Oil
1/3 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (Parmesan works, too)

If you have a wooden salad bowl, rub the garlic on the bottom of the bowl. You may need to trim the garlic clove occasionally to help the garlic oil distribute on the bowl surface.

If you want to go the easy route, just mince the garlic and stir it with the pepper in the bottom of the bowl.

Add the Egg Beaters. Stir until blended.

Add the lemon juice. Stir until blended. (If you really like lemon, zest the lemon peel before juicing the lemon and add the zest to the mixture.)

Add the Worcestershire Sauce. (We like a generous tablespoon.) Stir until blended.

Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking the whole time.

The dressing can now hold until you are ready to sit down for dinner. Add the washed and chopped romaine lettuce, toss, and then add the Parmigiano Reggiano. Toss again. Serve.

*Note: To add some WOW to this, take leftover Bubba's Bread, cut into squares, toss with a little olive oil and seasoning salt, place on an aluminum sheet cake pan, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Instant homemade croutons!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 T. Balsamic Vinegar
11/2 t. Dijon mustard
2 T. granulated sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. canola or olive oil

Put balsamic vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir until blended. Drizzle in oil, whisking the whole time.

Pour over washed and trimmed lettuce -- mesclun greens are good -- and a variety of other items, such as dried cranberries, sliced almonds, diced apples, and some crumbled bleu or roquefort cheese.